Meta's 1,500-acre data center marches forward in Lebanon

LEBANON, Ind. - Meta's plans to build a 1,500-acre data center in Lebanon's LEAP Research and Innovation District continue to move forward after being given the thumbs up by the planning commission.




Referred to as Project Domino, Meta's massive data center would be located north and south of State Road 32 between County Roads 250 West and 400 West.




The campus would contain 15 total buildings, according to plans submitted to the planning commission. These include 12 data center buildings, one network building, one logistics warehouse building and one administrative building.

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Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has committed an initial $800 million investment as part of the first phase of the multi-phase project. In total, the investment by Meta could grow to more than $4 billion over the six phases.




Last fall, the Lebanon City Council approved a 10-year, 50% real property tax abatement and a 35-year, 100% personal property tax abatement to Meta to help lure the tech giant to the LEAP District.




To offset these abatements, META will reportedly pay a yearly $1.5 million community impact payment.




Boone County citizens have previously expressed concern about the amount of water the LEAP District will consume. Data centers are notorious for consuming water and electricity at high rates. In Wyoming, an AI data center is planned that will use more electricity than every home in the state.




Lebanon previously announced a deal with Citizens Energy Group to pump 25 million gallons of water per day to the LEAP District.




How much water the data center will use, however, won't be available to the public as plans submitted to the city note that "all utility infrastructure on the customer-side of the meter will be considered private."




Meta joins Eli Lilly as the only companies so far announced as part of the 9,000-acre LEAP District in Lebanon.




Both Meta and Eli Lilly plan their campuses to be operational in 2027.





via: https://fox59.com/indiana-news/metas-1500-acre-data-center-marches-forward-in-lebanon/